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Sunday, December 13, 2015

It is not a secret that teachers often
spend a good chunk of their personal time to do things that are school related,
and I am hardly the exception to that rule.
Two weeks ago I took advantage of the weeklong break during Thanksgiving
Week to travel abroad and see my family.
While in Greece, I had the opportunity to visit two schools, one in
Ptolemaida, Kozani and one in Thermi, Thessaloniki. Both schools, although very different from
each other, offer great opportunities to create global connections with our own
schools, Plato Academy Schools.

The school in Ptolemaida is very special
to me, as it is the school I attended when I was growing up.As I was walking up the stairs of the new
building, old, pleasant memories came back like a stream of ferocious
intensity.The voices and laughter of my
friends and fellow students echoed in my ears and I have to admit, that these
memories brought tears to my eyes.

Soon, the warm welcoming of the principal
and assistant principal of the school brought me back to reality.The teachers there gave me the opportunity to
teach a class, and even deliver a short session to the whole faculty on
Augmented Reality.Although the
technology equipment of that particular school is not the greatest, the
teachers enjoyed learning about Augmented Reality in the classroom and saw the
huge potential of emerging technologies.

Mr. George Chatzopoulos and Mr. Nikolaos Chatzopoulos
at the Mandoulides School in Thermi, Thessaloniki

The school in Thermi, Ekpedeftiria
Mandoulides, is a private school with a more advanced structure and superior
technology.I met with the principal of
the school, Mr. Georgios Chatzopoulos (notice the name: quincidence or fate?),
and one of their awesome teachers, Ms. Jeanette Nikas, who were very kind, and
very interested in building a collaboration between the two schools, mandulides
and Plato Academy.

I believe that the development of
opportunities that foster global connections between schools, teachers, and
students is crucial.Our interconnected
world shapes global citizens.International connections between students of different backgrounds,
nationalities, and languages are highly beneficial for everyone involved:
students, teachers, schools, and communities.

I look forward to collaborating with the
schools in Greece so that we can all learn from each other on how to best prepare
our students for the future.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Textbooks are an irrevocable part of every classroom, and sometimes, they constitute the classroom, school, or district curriculum. Teachers rely on them to teach concepts, and use them to illustrate examples, share ideas, and assign homework and class work.

However, any teacher who takes his/her job seriously will tell you that there is no textbook in the world that is perfect. This statement couldn’t be more relevant today, because the many changes the Common Core Standards introduced to our nation’s educational system has made many of the mainstream books and textbooks insufficient.

But, what if teachers could write their own books? What if they could write their own textbooks that complement, and in some cases, replace, the always expensive and often outdated textbooks, bypassing the slow textbook adoption policies of large states and districts around the country?

Even more importantly, what if students where given the tools to create their own books and textbooks in which they illustrate their understanding of concepts, and even use these books in the classroom to teach their peers?

Today’s technology makes these, once outlandish ideas, very possible.

There are several platforms teachers and students can use to create digital books that match, and sometimes surpass the quality of traditional books. Two of the most user-friendly and inexpensive tools are Book Creator and iBooks Author. Although both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages, they both are capable of creating state-of-the-art digital books that can transform learning in the classroom.

BOOK CREATOR

Book Creator is currently an iOS, Android and Windows app, with a web version coming out around the beginning of the next school year. The app is currently free for Windows users for limited time, while it costs $4.99 for iOS users, and $2.49 for Android users, although there are free versions of Book Creator on both the iTunes and the Google Play stores.

Despite some minor differences in features and appearance, regardless of what platform a user prefers, Book Creator’s performance is solid. Book Creator allows teachers and students to create and publish digital books that contain text, drawings, pictures, sounds, and video files.

As such, it offers the opportunity to create lessons that are exciting, and provide unique educational experiences for all students. For instance, teachers can use Book Creator to create a book that serves as an introduction to a concept he/she wants to teach.

Or, a teacher can assemble a book with videos, text, pictures and drawings on a concept that is not covered adequately by the current textbooks. The biggest advantage of these books is that they can be highly personalized and directed at a specific audience. That will enable students to create personal connections to the material covered by these books, which will increase the chances of knowledge retention dramatically.

Teachers are not the only ones who can take advantage of this powerful platform. Students can use Book Creator to assemble resources such as videos, pictures, and text in order to produce a multimedia project that illustrates their understanding in multifaceted ways. For instance, in our school, 4th graders used Book Creator to create a digital book of collaborating math videos, and then used these books to teach 3rd graders a number of 4th grade math concepts.

Here is a short tutorial on how to get started with Book Creator for Windows

IBOOKS AUTHOR

iBooks Author is Apple’s free ebook authoring application for iBooks. It is a powerful platform that was designed to revolutionize modern textbooks. With iBooks Author teachers and students can easily write and publish interactive digital books and textbooks that have a professional look and are highly engaging.

Much like Book Creator, iBooks Author users can add text, images, sounds, videos and drawings to their books. However, Apple’s platform is much more diverse and offers a level of customization that can only be seen in professional desktop publishing applications.

Users can use a number of widgets to bulid-in their book review questions, interactive texts and images, 3D objects, Keynote presentations, and even HTML5 widgets that almost everyone can build without coding experience. The final product can be shared with students and enjoyed on an iPad, or, it can be published on the iTunes store.

As one can imagine, the implications of this are staggering. Teachers and students can reach vast audiences and break the barrier of the classroom microcosm by connecting to others on a global scale, as they can create digital books that can be literally downloaded by anyone in the world. The power of connectivity in conjunction with the power of creativity can drive innovation to a whole new level and open the door to a brave new world for all students.

One of the more important responsibilities and duties of a teacher is to encourage his/her students dream and empower them to become masters of their own learning. Teachers and students around the country are creating a small revolution by using technology to create their own books and textbooks. The question you have to ask yourself is, are you ready to join this revolution?

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Today the field of educational
technology is literally bombarded with new ideas and devices that promise to
revolutionize the way we teach.Some of
these newcomers have strong potential and promise a unique learning experience.One such product is Osmo. Osmo is an innovative device that transforms
an iPad into an interactive classroom accessory able to add a level of
excitement that engages students in the learning process.

Osmo is made of a vertical base
for the iPad, and a reflective mirror that sits in front of the camera.These two unassuming accessories work
together to change the physical space in front of the iPad into an area of
active engagement that interact with a number of iPad apps made for Osmo.

Osmo Kit

Osmo will only set you back $79,
but for that money you get a well-designed Kit along with four Osmo apps you
can download for free.Aside from the
base and the reflective mirror, Osmo comes with a set of tangrams and two
color-coded sets of alphabet letters.This may seem simplistic at first, but these modest accessories can
guarantee hours of enjoyable learning and turn mundane and repetitive learning
activities into highly appealing and engaging lessons.

Words App

Words is the most interesting,
and the app with the highest educational value of all Osmo apps.Words has a lot of potential in the
elementary classroom and the fact that it is highly customizable makes it ideal
for all elementary grade levels, from Kindergarten to 5th
grade.The app consists of two sets of
color-coded alphabet letters that the students can use to interact with the
app.The objective is to guess and use
the correct letters in order to match the target word on the iPad’s
screen.Words does a superb job in
differentiating and offering diverse levels, which enhances the
experience.For instance, K-1 students
can start using the Junior level, while everyone else can use the standard
level that comes with the app.Even
within the standard level there are four different difficulty levels.Depending on the level you choose, words may
be single or multi-syllable words, and a picture in the background may provide
little, some, or a lot of support.

Users who own an Osmo unit can
create an account at playosmo.com, and this is where things get very
interesting.From there the teacher can
generate his/her own lists of words and pictures.The implications of this are staggering.

Due to its highly customizable
nature, Osmo allows teachers of all subjects to create their own albums,
therefore making Osmo relevant to any subject, math, reading, social studies,
or science.Creative teachers can design
spelling bee contests, math games, science vocabulary quizzes, social studies
puzzles, Cloze sentences, and the list goes on.Furthermore, at my.playosmo.com/ teachers have access to a growing
number of public albums they can download on their iPad for free, ensuring that
there is always something new to engage the students.

The newest addition to the Osmo
family, Masterpiece, is a fun and super engaging drawing app that can elevate
the excitement in any art class.The app
contains a good number of curated pictures that, when selected, transform into
drawings that you have to recreate.The
camera tracks your pencil’s every move while it guides you to follow the lines,
which allows you to be incredibly accurate while drawing.In addition, the app records in real time
every line you draw, and comprises a time-lapse video of your drawing, which is
a very neat feature.

Following in the Footsteps of
Words, Masterpiece allows the user to import his/her own pictures, opening the
door for some quite astonishing challenges.Self-portraits, familiar landscapes, and favorite pets are only some of
the things the students can interact with and draw using this truly intuitive
app.

Tangram App

Tangram is an old Chinese game made
of a square divided into seven basic geometric shapes that can be put together
to create hundreds of other shapes.Osmo’s
twist on this old game is ingenious and highly interactive.The tangram app displays a shape on the screen
and the objective is for the students to recreate this shape using the real
life tangram pieces that come with the Kit.The app is designed to adjust the difficulty level and the support it
provides to the student, therefore the teacher can differentiate lessons and
activities to meet the needs of a diverse group of students.

Although tangram is ideal for K-2
students, as it can be used to introduce students to the properties of 2- dimensional
shapes, upper elementary students can benefit from working with the app as
well.The app can be used to teach students
how to visualize 2- dimensional shapes, and to think out of the box in order to
combine commonly used shapes to create unusual forms and arrangements.

Newton App

Osmo’s doodle application easily
earns the title of the most basic app of Osmo.Newton is a game in which the objective is to draw lines on a piece of
paper placed in front of the iPad, in order to force the balls falling from the
top of the screen to hit certain targets.This is the equivalent of a pinball game played on the iPad.Although Newton falls short in providing some
strong educational value, it is still great for hand-eye coordination practice
for K-2 students, not to mention the hours of fun students can have challenging
each other.

Apple TV & Osmo

I am a strong believer of the fact that an Apple TV can make
a great classroom accessory, and I have written about
that in the past.Using Osmo in
conjunction with an Apple TV opens up a wide range of possibilities in the
classroom.One of Osmo’s greatest
strengths is its ability to make the learning experience social.However, you are still limited by the small
size of the iPad’s screen, so only a small number of students can share the
experience.Mirror the iPad to an Apple
TV and you have a very different picture.The whole class can participate and be part of a lesson, in which
physical interaction goes well beyond the usual tapping of the iPad’s
screen.That’s learning at its best!

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Digital books are transforming the way students of all ages
learn today.The interactive elements of
digital books enhance the learning experience, making it far more informative
and interesting than before.Many
teachers today are embracing this new media and producing some high quality student-made
eBooks in their classrooms.

One of the most fascinating ways to create an eBook is using
a mobile device, particularly, an iPad.StoryKit,
Book Writer, and Book Creator are 3 apps my students have used to create some
highly interactive, professionally looking eBooks.All three apps are excellent examples of
tools that allow students to unleash their creativity and tell their own
stories.

StoryKit (free)

StoryKit is a user-friendly free app that allows students to
create eBooks with text, pictures, sound recordings, and drawings.The
app allows users to import pictures from the iPad’s Camera Roll, supports multi-language
text, and student made illustrations. Although
it is not as powerful as other eBook creation apps, its lack of complex
features makes it ideal for lower elementary students, or, for teachers and
students who are new to eBook creation.StoryKit’s main advantage is its ability to provide a platform that
gives students a voice and allows them to narrate their own story. The final product can be enjoyed on the iPad,
or it can be shared with others via email.

The interactivity of eBooks created with StoryKit is limited
to the playback of the sound files that can be up to one minute long.Also, the app does not support file exporting
or printing.Nevertheless, StoryKit is a
solid authoring app that allows students to create their own eBooks from
scratch, and share them in ways that protect the user’s privacy.

Users looking for an app with more impressive features can
try Book Writer; an innovative app students and teachers can use to create
eBooks.Much like StoryKit, the app
supports text, audio narration, drawings, and pictures, and utilizes a user-friendly
interface that makes creating an interactive book a breeze.However, Book Writer has some additional
functions to offer.For instance,
students can import video files into their projects, a feature that makes their
eBooks truly exciting.In addition, the
app supports advance sharing options such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and iTunes
integration, and it even allows you to open your final product in iBooks.Furthermore, the app allows students to
customize the text’s size and color, and is enriched with some rare additional
features such as link integration, slideshow mode, and background music.All these qualities guarantee a final product
with a highly professional look and feel.

The free version allows the user to create only one book at
a time.If you are only planning on
using the app once or twice, students can share their eBook with others or open
it in iBooks, and then start a new book within the app that replaces the old
one.However, teachers who plan on using
the app on a regular basis can buy the full version that will allow the entire
class to create multiple eBooks as well as to unlock additional distribution
options.

Book Creator
(free/$4.99)

Book Creator is one of the most intuitive book creation apps
for mobile devices, and it is the only book authoring app that can be used on
more than one platform, namely, iOS and Android.The app is equipped with one of the easiest
and most straightforward interfaces around, and it is one that requires no
learning curve.Book Creator allows
students to import text, hand drawings, illustrations, pictures, sound files,
narration, and video files, making it ideal for advance eBook creation that
utilizes complex techniques such as app smashing, digital storytelling, and
project based learning.Furthermore, students
have the ability to combine multiple eBooks into larger books, export these
books in ePub, PDF or movie format, or print them using the app’s AirPrint
support.

Teachers and students using Book Creator are able to export
their final projects to almost all of the major cloud storage services such as
Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and iCloud.They are also able to send their work directly to iTunes University,
iBooks, and even publish their eBooks on Apple’s iTunes store, so that they can
share their work with anyone who lives in the Apple ecosystem.

Much like Book Writer, before buying the full version, teachers
and students can try the free version of the app, which allows them to create
only one book.The Book Creator Team is
currently working on a plan to integrate additional widgets that will allow for
3-dimensional objects, quizzes, and other features that will improve the user
experience dramatically.

The rise of digital books has transformed the way students
of all levels are interacting with textbooks and other learning materials.Exploring new frontiers has always been a
human innate trait.Naturally, students
are fascinated by eBook creation, and when immersed in this new media, they are
more willing to experiment, take risks, and engage in collaborative content
creation and learning.Digital book
creation provides students with all the tools necessary to help them unleash
their creativity.As such, it redefines
education by helping students engage in new learning behaviors.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

iPads are amazing learning instruments that can improve
instruction and student engagement dramatically.Those of us privileged enough to work in 1:1
iPad classrooms can attest to that.But
lets be realistic: most classrooms around the world do not have access to the
funds and resources necessary to equip a full classroom with iPads for each
student.There are numerous teachers who
have access to only one iPad at school, or they just own an iPad and think it
would be a great idea to be able to use in the classroom. Luckily, there are several EdTech tools
teachers can use in the One iPad Classroom in order to create lessons that are
exciting, and provide unique educational experiences for all students.

Apple TV in the One
iPad Classroom

An Apple TV can literally transform the One iPad Classroom
into an collective interactive experience for all students.Due to the fact that the Apple TV supports
AirPlay and mirroring, it is able to provide visual access of the iPad screen
to all of the students in the classroom.With the help of the little black box, the teacher can transform the
iPad into a high definition portable document viewer that can be used to show
teacher and student work in real time.Furthermore the combination of an Apple TV with an iPad can enhance
several parts of an everyday lesson.For
example, a teacher can use a digital book on the iPad to implement a read aloud.The read aloud can now become
interactive.As the teacher reads the
text from anywhere in the room, any student can use the iPad to highlight,
annotate, and insert text and captions, transforming a simple read aloud
activity to a highly engaging experience for all of the students.An Apple TV is a great investment for One
iPad Classrooms because it allows the teacher to craft highly engaging lessons
that promote creativity and create spaces for collective engagement.

Aurasma in the One
iPad Classroom

Augmented Reality has always been a captivating
concept.People love watching impressive
animations appear out of nowhere and provide the viewer with additional
information that enhances the learning experience.Aurasma is a free augmented reality app that
can be used in the One iPad Classroom by students working collaboratively. Students can take turns and use the iPad to
take pictures of their work and turn them into time-lapse videos, or make short
videos of each other explaining a math, reading, writing, or science concept.Students that are technologically savvy can
take it a step further and use appsmash and apps like iMovie or Tellagami to
create even more sophisticated products as shown in the video below.

The students can work collaboratively and use these pictures
and videos to create auras and triggers.The teacher can post the triggers-images around the classroom, and the
students can use the iPad collectively or individually to make the
pictures-triggers come alive.

An Apple TV can easily transform the above activity from
individual, to a collective educational experience.By mirroring the iPad on the projector’s
screen, every single student becomes an active participant of the lesson and
the whole classroom is engaged in continuous learning.

Plickers in the One
iPad Classroom

Up until a few years ago, audience response systems were
extremely expensive, difficult to navigate and utilize, and often needed
additional tech equipment, usually a smartboard, in order to function.The introduction of tablets and laptops at
schools changed that, as highly affordable, extremely effective, and completely
free of charge apps and platforms such as Socrative and Kahoot made audience
response systems user friendly and easily accessible.However, these platforms require that each
student has access to a digital device.Luckily,
there is an audience response system that One iPad Classroom teachers can
utilize in the classroom to collect real time data from formative assessments, and
its name is Plickers.

Pickers is an empowering application because it is armed
with the unique ability to change the mundane task of taking a test into a
highly interactive and enjoyable lesson that results in an authentic learning
experience.

Plickers is very easy to set up and once it is up and
running, it can be used by teachers to create assessments, exit tickets, or
just simple questions.Plickers allows
the teacher to collect data in order to check student understanding in formal
and informal ways, and it does so very intuitively, with the help of only one
iPad and a number of cards with QR Codes.Each card corresponds to a specific student.The cards are equipped ingeniously with four options,
which the students can select by just turning the card to a different
orientation.Teachers can use Plickers
to spice up their lessons and engage students with the platform’s kinesthetic approach
and its capacity to give students the chance to interact with the lesson
collectively.

Want to learn more about integrating the iPad and other EdTech tools in your classroom?